Azamara VS Oceania??

[Napi's Mom]

I am going to post this on both boards. From my reading, these two lines seem to have the same niche--a little more upscale then the Celebrity level. How would you seasoned cruisers compare the two? We love great food and the educational aspects of cruising. Is one line above the other? Are the costs comparable? Are great deals on both available?

 

Thanks

Did you read the above comments just above yours??? As to price O is still higher but A is catching up. You can still get deals if you look. Yes lines are getting comparable, some will not admit that, but "Dabear"if your butler on Oceania was better, must have been in a suite, as we in a 1A concierge has only room attendants and were NOT as good or as attentive as the Azamara "butler" and attendant were. I've heard the Butlers in suites are not as good on "A", something about not enough tips???, The really good ones want the lesser cabins as work's less and as they have more cabins...more tips??? Az. need work on the educational part still in Dec.,not much in the line of seminars on the ports. Itineraries seem similar!

[susiesan]

I just got home from the March 1-15 sailing of Journey. I sailed on Insignia June 2006. I was in a veranda cabin both times. I have cruised over the past 25 years over 30 times on many lines and sizes of ships. The Journey/R Class ships are my favorites. In my opinion as an experienced traveler, AZ is now equal to O. At the moment, AZ is less $. But now that the word is out and the ships become more popular AZ will probably raise their prices. The food was equal on both, but AZ takes the edge because of the sushi. Every night we went up to the buffet before dinner to have sushi as an appetizer with a cocktail. The sushi chef will make custom rolls. I had him make a rainbow roll with tobiko on the outside and an unagi and avocado roll. AZ's sushi had a better selection than O's.

 

The staff on AZ were so friendly and helpful. We did not meet a single person who did not go the extra to please. Our butler even gave us a bottle of wine left by a former passenger when we said we ran out.

 

This was a Panama Canal cruise, with warm weather the whole time so NOT having those cabanas gives a point to AZ over O.

 

We participated in trivia and contests every day and won so many prizes we gave them back. O has the edge on this with their system of giving out numbered chips you use to buy you better prizes at the end. AZ just had typical cruise junk, and only a few different items. We were part of the entertainment by being in the "Not So Newlywed Game" and were promised a DVD of our "performance". We did not get it.

 

Yoga and Pilates classes were totally lame, taught by someone who is not qualified to teach them and in fact did it wrong. I could have taught a better class than he did. Don't waste your time on these classes.

 

Just like on O the vast majority of pax were retired and over the age of 65. If you are looking for a younger crowd on AZ you will not find it. there was one child on board who played ping pong all day.

 

There were a few other minor differences, but I will cruise with AZ again on the right itinerary at the right price. I would also cruise with O again. I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise and it lived up to all my expectations. FDR, if you are reading this, you have some serious competition.

 

If you have any specific questions about the differences just ask.

 

Susie

[LMKohler]

Hi Susie,

 

Hope you got home all right. We made it back, but it was a long trip. I liked your short review except weren't we on "Quest":D :D

 

Since we have never been on Oceania it was nice to hear a comparison. We too would go back on Azamara in a heartbeat. It was just a wonderful cruise all the way around:)

 

Lucy

[susiesan]

Hi Susie,

 

Hope you got home all right. We made it back, but it was a long trip. I liked your short review except weren't we on "Quest":D :D

 

Cruise hangover/lag.

 

Susie : )

[dabear]

I'm glad that someone corrected Susie since our Journey cruise was for South America from 2/27 to 3/10 , but comments are nearly the same. Actually, our "butler" on A was a glorified cabin attendant in cat 2A. The crowd was mostly 55+ with a few younger. Their appeared to be alot of travel agents on our cruise, guessing that they gave some last minute bargains to many of them. The sushi was good with in room cocktails. You can't go wrong with either A or O, but our choice will depend upon itinerary and price.